Things I will accomplish before the big three-oh.

Day 44

We had a pretty slow day today. Not too much changed for Lucy, which is good. Her platelets were at 24 this morning. That’s still very low, but not low enough to need a transfusion, and that’s all I’m really looking for at the moment. Her blood gas this morning was good (CO2 53, up a bit), and this evening it was better (CO2 44, everything else in normal range). Today there were no changes made to her vent settings or feeding, but she hasn’t had too much residual milk, so maybe they’ll increase more tomorrow. Her tummy is a bit distended, but they don’t think anything is really wrong so long as she’s pooping well (the kid sure knows how to do that!) and her residuals are normal. Her nurse says she’s tolerating her care better (care consists of diaper changes, bed changes, mouth swabbing, suctioning her mouth and lungs, switching her position, and changing the leads stuck all over her torso, among other things), not desat-ing as much, and coming back more quickly when she does. She’s also requiring a little less oxygen (the oxygen they give her is FiO2 and is measured as a percentage, whereas the oxygen they measure in her blood is PiO2, and is measured as a partial pressure, in case I ever refer to those different measures). She seems to be very slowly improving.

Last night she saw the opthalmologist for the first time. He was checking for ROP (retinopathy of prematurity), which is when the blood vessels in the eye don’t develop normally, and can cause blindness, lazy eye, etc. The risk of ROP increases dramatically with increased platelet transfusions. He said it may be too early, so he will reevaluate later, but right now he couldn’t find any ROP. That’s good news.

Today they were re-checking her for end-organ dissemination of the yeast infection, i.e. checking her major organs for new yeast colonizations. They did another head ultrasound and others (not sure which this time, but probably repeated her bladder and kidneys, and possibly looked at her liver as well), and we should know what those turned up tomorrow. As long as her infection persists they will re-examine her every 5-7 days, I think, to make sure it’s not spreading. They did another blood culture (haven’t heard back yet – yeast takes longer than bacteria to test positive in a petri dish, I’ve read), and I fully expect it to show that she still has the infection. This kind of infection can take as long as months to clear, and I don’t expect them to be able to make much headway against it until they can remove her PICC line and ET tube.

She is gaining weight pretty rapidly now, since she’s been getting more significant amounts of breast milk. Today she gained another 40 grams, I think. If that’s all real weight gain, she now weighs 2 lbs. 7 oz. She looks noticeably chubbier almost every day, and her mommy spent a certain amount of her Lucy time today nuzzling her double chin and kissing her rosy round cheeks. Lucy didn’t seem to mind one bit. I think maybe she likes us a little.

I had my 6 week postpartum checkup today, and everything was good. Well, one thing is kind of not so great. This might be too much information, but I have a clogged milk duct, and it hurts like crazy. Anybody ever had one of those? Any miracle cures? I’ve been using a hot compress on it before I pump, and that seems to help, but it’s very painful and I seem to be producing even less milk than usual. I’m sure it will clear up soon.

Okay, here are a few pictures of our chubby Lucy, who’s looking remarkably like a real baby now. Here she is yesterday. She flopped that foot out no matter what we did to keep it in. She’s stubborn like that. (Side story: when she’s on her stomach and awake, she has to be watched because she can lift her whole head and torso up off the bed, then she smashes her face straight down and kinks the ET tube. How is she strong enough to do that?)

Holding hands with mama:

Sweet little feet. Still tiny, but not as tiny. The bandaid is from the repeated pokes she gets in her heel to draw blood for all these tests.

This one is old, but I think the picture is so sweet. It is also so sweet that the nurses do this kind of thing. David was there when they were working on it, and he overheard one nurse asking another “Do you think one owl is enough?” Haha, they’re so cute.

Lucy, sweetheart, you are in very good hands. Mama and Daddy will be forever grateful to the wonderful people who take care of you. We wish we could be the ones taking care of you, but since we can’t, they are definitely the next best thing. They love you too, you know. You’re pretty hard not to love.

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5 Responses

We continue to pray for God’s healing hand to touch Lucy and miraculously clear this pesky infection. My eyes get wet each day as I read how she continues to grow. I think I get a little giggle each time you refer to her as strong willed or stubborn. My grandson, Christian, was – and is – like that too. Oh the challenges. While he can be the most stubborn, he is also the most kind and sensitive little guy!

Christian and I – and many others – are excited for the upcoming walk-a-thon for the Ronald McDonald House. I know what a blessing that resource has been for you guys! Still, please don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything! Remember I drive back and forth between Ridgecrest and Bakersfield weekly.

I know Lucy is the luckiest little girl to have the best parents who are so dedicated to her. You all will be so blessed! Hugs from us!
In Christ’s Love,
-Val & Glen

clogged milk duct advice – keep up the warm compresses, and massage in the direction of the clog while you’re pumping (kind of like you’re trying to push it out with the milk.) You might want to make sure that you’re flanges are the right size – I ended up with two different sizes, after having some problems on the left side (I had to go up a size on that side).

I’m so glad to see how well Lucy is progressing! Every morning, I check for a new post in my Google Reader feed. You all are doing an amazing job – and being an incredible advocate for your daughter!

Clogged milk duct advice: massage breast around the clogged area frequently to help move/break up the clog (even in between pumping). And definitely massage it while pumping. I’ve also found that pumping more frequently sometimes helps to dislodge the clog. Also, look at you nipples and see if you can located the clog externally. If you can see it try to squeeze it out. TMI for some- but I know how those clogged ducts hurt!!! Lucy is so cute and you can really tell that she is putting on weight!